- Myths about Delegation
- You can’t trust your employees to be responsible.
- When you delegate you lose control of a task and its outcome.
- You are the only one who has all the answers.
- You can do all the work faster by yourself.
- Delegation dilutes your authority.
- Your employees will be recognized for doing a good job, but you won’t
- Delegation decreases your flexibility.
- Your employees are too busy.
- Your workers don’t see the big picture.
- The Six Steps of Delegating
- Communicate the task
- Furnish context for the task
- Determine standards
- Grant authority
- Provide support
- Get commitment.
- Delegate These Things
- Detail work
- Information gathering
- Repetitive assignments
- Surrogate roles (employees fill in for you at a meeting if appropriate)
- Future duties (to give employees a taste of their own future duties).
- Do not Delegate These Things
- Long-term vision and goals
- Performance appraisals, unsatisfactory discipline and counselling
- Politically sensitive situations
- Personal assignments
- Confidential or sensitive circumstances
(Source: Managing for Dummies, B. Nelson & P. Economy, pp. 48–59)
Be visible; do not delegate important symbolic tasks. You can, however, share these tasks.